Why school bus driver Dylynn Kempton related to Craig Davidson's Precious Cargo
Precious Cargo is the story of Craig Davidson's year spent driving a school bus for special needs children. He has described the insights and empathy he gained during that time as something that forever changed him.
The memoir is currently a finalist on Canada Reads 2018, where it will be defended by tornado hunter Greg Johnson. In anticipation of the debates, CBC Books asked a reader with a personal connection to each of the books in contention to tell us how the books impacted them.
Dylynn Kempton is a school bus driver from Thunder Bay, Ont., who was a panellist alongside Precious Cargo author Craig Davidson at a recent Canada Reads event. Below, she writes about why she found the story so moving and relatable.
The Canada Reads debates, which are being hosted by Ali Hassan, take place March 26-29, 2018.
Finding similarities
When I was asked to read Precious Cargo, I hadn't heard of it before. I was told it was about a guy who was so broke and desperate he decided to drive a school bus for a year. With that in mind, my first thoughts were, "That sounds like me!" and "Why would anybody write a book about that?!" I was intrigued. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Probably that this Craig Davidson guy had a really bad experience and wrote one long rant. But then I started reading.
Right away the book brought memories of my own mornings — cool and crisp, dark and quiet, checking the bus. I could almost smell the morning dew as I was reading. The school bus I drive has way more students on it than Craig had on his bus. If I have a full bus, I have 68 students in the afternoon. I've been driving my route for four years now, so I know these students and I have a great group of kids. I have kids in Grade 2 for whom I'm the only bus driver they've ever had. I get to know their parents and siblings, and even grandmas and grandpas. Driving for as long as I have on this route, I can say that if I see any of my kids out in public, I have no qualms about saying hi or giving hugs. And there are a number of kids on my bus who will come up and throw their arms around me if they do see me in public.
Getting started
I originally started driving to be with my daughter. As a single parent, I wanted to have the time to spend with her and do stuff with her class and driving a bus enabled me to do that. My driver training was intimidating, but they teach you how to manage, especially the long back and "tail swing" of the bus, so your effect on other traffic is minimal. Still, the first time I got behind the wheel, I panicked. The first time they put me on the road with traffic I thought, "Oh my God." But now it's easy peasy.
Making space for change
I currently have one boy on my bus with autism. He's been on my bus for four years. From the first day to today, the dynamic has completely changed. He used to only sit with his older brother. He didn't like to be around certain kids because of the noise. He didn't like the speakers, so I wouldn't put him near the radio. I believe it was last year that he first asked me if he could sit somewhere else. I responded, "Absolutely. You sit where you want to sit." He sat with a couple of boys from his class. From then on, he sat away from his brother, but with his brother close by. Now his brother has graduated to a new school and this year he's been completely on his own.
I'm still checking in with him to make sure things are okay. I still make sure he's not near the speakers and check to make sure that whatever's going on around him isn't agitating him. Because I've known him for four years I can see if it's starting to get there. But he's in a very different place, and it was his own independence that got him there. He came up and asked to move. When he got off the bus that day, his teacher said, "Oh, you're not with your brother?" And he said, "No, he's back there. I sat with my friends." And he had this big smile on his face.
Making time to listen
I can see the characters in Craig's book — the students on his bus — reflected in the students on my bus. Not necessarily their abilities or disabilities, but their personalities. Every day is different. You can't anticipate what's going to happen on the bus. You can't anticipate who's going to be the clown, or who might put somebody down. But Craig's book opened my eyes to the fact that despite their differences, kids are all the same. The stories they tell, the words that come out of their mouths, are all the same. Someone just needs to stop and listen.
The Canada Reads 2018 contenders:
Mozhdah Jamalzadah, defending The Boat People by Sharon Bala
Tahmoh Penikett, defending American War by Omar El Akkad
Greg Johnson, defending Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson
Jeanne Beker, defending Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto
Jully Black, defending The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline